Big Oil's "Managed Decline" Strategy Masks An Expansion Push

For years, the talk in boardrooms and investor presentations has been about “discipline” and “capital efficiency.” These are the code words for a strategy that keeps production largely flat, trims high-risk exploration budgets, and returns more cash to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks. The era of endlessly chasing production growth at any cost is over, replaced by an approach that seeks to manage fossil fuel portfolios like mature, declining assets. The optics are powerful. European majors like BP and Shell…

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